Arming teachers asking for trouble: Letters, March 23, 2018

Arming teachers asking for trouble

The rush to pass gun legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly should be concerning to our state’s residents. The legislation presented has been pushed by gun lobbyists and the National Rifle Association without regard to data that demonstrate that the more guns per capita, the more gun deaths occur.

We shouldn’t arm teachers, administrators and staff in our schools with little or no consideration of the risks involved. The legislators are ignoring parents and teachers who oppose guns in schools. There is no state funding provided to the local education agencies for the cost of purchasing guns, training personnel and liability insurance. From talking with legislators, I don’t hear that they have considered the skill and experience necessary to use a weapon in an active-shooter situation, when adrenaline is running high, or the risk that a person carrying a gun is likely to become a target for law enforcement. Don’t forget that in 13 years, only one in 160 incidents ended when a civilian (a former Marine) shot the shooter. In multiple instances, the police have not been able to identify the shooter when civilians were openly carrying and drawing guns.

Remember, the gun lobby wants us to be afraid of the possibility of a shooter in our schools, and they also want to sell guns. Let’s use some common sense here. There are effective ways to stop opportunities for active shooters. Arming civilians is not one of them. Teachers are civilians who want to teach. Putting guns in schools is asking for trouble. If you haven’t seen the consequences, you haven’t been paying attention.

Marcia Power, volunteer, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, Knoxville

Warlick will keep away 5-star players

I am at a loss as to why University of Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer won't put Lady Vols basketball coach Holly Warlick in an office out of the way of everything until she retires and get a real basketball coach. I am afraid we are not going to keep signing 5-star All-American players she stays. These players have been choosing Tennessee because of the previous coach and the overall status of our women's program, which is fading fast.

Why do you think those stars at the University of Connecticut choose that school? It certainly isn’t that they would like to have a degree from UConn. They think they will have a better chance to play for a championship.

Some of Warlick's antics when things aren’t going well are nauseating.